Nvidia rolling out DLSS to Linux with Valve
Linux gamers utilizing Valve’s Proton compatibility tool to run Windows games will get an performance upgrade in the future: Nvidia has declared that it’s working with Valve to bring FPS boosts utilizing its DLSS technology featured on its RTX cards. It’s practically enough to make me need to revisit Linux gaming.
DLSS, or Deep Learning Super Sampling, is an technology that allows gamers to get more performance without having a lot of image quality. It does this by running the game at lower-than-native resolution (say, delivering the game at 1080p when your monitor is 4K), yet then upscaling the image to native resolution utilizing some mightily impressive algorithms.
The tech will, obviously, be energizing for individuals with Linux gaming PCs, but on the other hand it’s intriguing considering the bits of gossip about Valve making a handheld gaming gadget. They contended that DLSS could make the next-gen Switch hit path over its weight-class, and similar would be valid for a handheld PC without a ton of graphics horsepower, which would probably be running Linux.
While Nvidia hasn’t released a list of which Proton-powered games will get DLSS, there are really an surprising number of candidates. Running Nvidia’s list of games that help DLSS through ProtonDB, a site that allows clients to report how well games work when utilizing Proton, shows that a decent segment of DLSS-enabled games are now working away at Linux. That is around 30 games out of somewhat more than 50.
There is, notwithstanding, an interesting question raised by Nvidia’s DLSS list — a couple of the games on it really have native Linux ports, yet it appears to be that those may not be getting support for the tech at this time. A Nvidia representative revealed to The Verge that the declaration just identifies with Windows games running with Proton, which might prompt an odd quirk where gamers potentially better performance by running the Windows version through a copying layer, as opposed to the native version. They will possibly truly have the option to tell if that is really the situation when the feature is released.
Nvidia hasn’t referenced a time period when DLSS will be coming to Proton (however it referenced that help for Vulkan was coming this month, and that DirectX support would be coming in the fall), yet it’s ideal to see that it’s actually pushing to bring Linux gaming up to par with the Windows experience. As somebody who attempted to be a Linux gamer in the long quite a while in the past, utilizing vanilla Wine and, later, CrossOver, the work Nvidia and Valve are doing with Proton has caused me to consider setting up a Linux gaming rig once more. Presently if no one but I could get an graphics card.
